Filmmaker, educator and activist Catalina Alcaraz-Guzman opened her own professional
photography studio in her hometown of Medellin, Colombia, at the age of sixteen. As an active
young leader, community organizer and cultural developer, Catalina participated in youth
congresses, conferences, master classes, artistic events and performances, focusing on the
power of film, theater, and mass media to offset the tumultuous social and political unrest in her
country in the 1990s. After completing various degrees in photography, television production
and journalism, in 2002, she relocated to the United States in pursuit of an education and career
in filmmaking. Specializing in history and popular culture, she received her BFA in
Communication from Castleton State University, followed by her MFA in Film & Television from
the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2013.

While working as a development producer for 22 Whitestone in New York, Catalina was
Artist-in-Residence at Reel Works, which mentors and empowers underserved NYC youth. In
2014, she joined Poverty Row Entertainment, working closely with Jennifer DeLia and Julie
Pacino while producing various commercial and music video projects, and leading the creative
team on the upcoming independent feature film about the life of Hollywood legend Mary
Pickford (starring Sophie Kennedy Clark, Cary Elwes, Luke Arnold, and Balthazar Getty).

Catalina returned to Savannah, Georgia in 2017, to raise her daughter and accept the position
of Film Commission Manager for the Savannah Regional Film Commission, supporting large
studio productions, independent films, television series’, and commercials filmed in Savannah.
In late 2019, Catalina joined the Film & Digital Media faculty at Idyllwild Arts Academy in
Idyllwild, California, and was promoted to department chair in 2022. She was also appointed as
chair of the academy’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Collaborative.

Recently, Catalina was invited to direct the cinematic filming of iconic theater plays with
recognized troupes in her city of origin, Medellin, and presented in masterclasses in South
America for her contributions to several documentaries and short films, including Birdsong &
Coffee: A Wake Up Call. Catalina’s debut feature film #Medellin1995 is currently in
development.